Thatz's Quest for Food
by Vuirneen
Summary: While Rune seeks peace and Rath hunts down demons, Thatz has a quest of his own to fulfill.
1. The Cremation

**Edit 28 October, 2004** Sorry, reading it while writing chapter two, I realise what a bad job I did of the first draft. This story should stand alone, but it was treated as an afterthought in too many places and the story didn't flow. This version should fix the problems I found with it. There is no excuse for a rush to publish. Everything needs time to be edited. Please enjoy this new edit. The main differences are in Thatz's interactions with Rath. 

This is the third linked story in the series. The other two are _Rune's Quest for Peace_ and _Rath's Quest for Demons_. 

* * *

It was a truly magnificent feast.  
There was so much food on the picnic basket, that the scraggy, green-haired dragon had to sit on the grass. Apples, oranges, grapes and yams tumbled over the bananas onto the ground. Pork buns, rice balls and glazed ham all graced the left side. Chicken balls, miso soup and seasonal salads haunted the right. The desert, the temptations, apple tart, full chocolate cake, lemon sorbet and a sumptuous cheesecake hid at the back, out of reach until the main courses were finished. In the centre, the piéce de la resistance, was a whole suckling pig, loving roasted for several hours, by his own hand. Mmmm, the aroma filled the air and made him dizzy.  
He smiled and intoned deeply, "Green Thatz needs food badly".

"KAI!" 

The sound echoed and threatened to topple the leaning tower of mashed potato. Thatz turned and looked down the hill, to see the Fire Dragon Knight waving his sword in the air. He grabbed an apple and watched for a bit.  
"Ah, entertainment to go with my food," he said, taking a bite. "What a perfect day." 

Rath continued to leap, dance and stab the air. Thatz chomped on some skewered, barbecued meat, watching half-heartedly, until the prancing knight made a strange motion with his hand. Thatz leant forward and saw a flicker of light, that turned into a stream of fire. He followed its path as it soared into the air, arced and came back down, just passing behind his head.  
He sat for a moment, holding his chest and thanking his lucky stars, until he heard an evil cackle behind him. He turned quickly and screamed, "Red Rath has shot the food!" 

_Hey, I'm called Thatz and I'm the Dragon Knight of Earth. I used to be a petty thief, but life's gotten much easier since the Dragonlord hired me. Sometimes I miss the danger and fun of it. Now being a Dragon Knight's great, the opportunities are good, the lads are fun and I never go hungry, but stealing's a different kind of thrill. I hope I'm not getting rusty._  
_Stealing's a game. Your opponents are the guards and those you steal from. Your rivals are other thieves. The best part is that there's an inbuilt scoring system. Of course, if we were good thieves, then we'd all be rich, but fencers take an enormous cut and tools cost a fortune. Maybe stealing isn't the best way to make a bundle from thievery, but it sure is the most fun._

Thatz ran down to Rath. "What are you doing? My food, my food, it's ruined!" he said, jumping back and forth and shooting devastated glances at the hill.  
Rath ignored him, steadily attacking the air around him and Thatz turned back. "Maybe I can save something." He surged up the hill to survey the damage. The pig! It was burning, but maybe it was only surface damage. Like a barbecue, yeah? Blackened and crispy, okay, it was crumbling now, but maybe it was only damaged on the outside and still perfect on the inside! As he eagerly grabbed it, it fell to ashes. Staring at his hands, he wept, only to be distracted by a strange noise. Looking up, he saw an untouched, unblemished chocolate cake. Dribbling tears once more, he reached out, only to notice the trail of sugar that led from a smouldering, wooden basket, to a nearby mound of candy cakes. The sugar fuse hissed and flared blue, then ignited fully. Thatz dove, just before the candy mountain exploded. He resurfaced and cringingly re-evaluated the blanket. The cake was ruined.  
He reached out towards it, but was kept at bay by the thought of burning sugar stuck to his fingers. With a final sigh, he pulled the blanket across the remains of his lunch, giving it dignity. He then walked away. 

"I can't believe it's all gone," he said, aloud. "So much good food. It took me ages to choose and pack it. Even thinking of the stuff I left out turns my mouth moist. I mean, the list was endless. Grapes, apples, bananas, waffles, pancakes, noodles..." He wailed out. "There was a suckling pig and everything!"  
"What?" Rath said, still chopping at the air. He spun around and stabbed at this new foe, stopping his blade a hair's breadth from the Earth Dragon Knight.  
His mouth quivered. "My lunch, Rath! There was a whole pig! Roasted with an apple! There were riceballs, ramen, succulent fruit..." He smacked his lips and stroked his rumbling stomach. "And now it's all gone."  
"Well, then," Rath interrupted, sounding bored as he put away his sword. "I'm glad you enjoyed it."  
"Huh?" Thatz said. "What are talking about? I didn't get to eat anything." Looking down he marked off the many succulent foods that perished on the hill. "Apples, oranges, grapes, yams, pork buns, rice balls, glazed ham, chicken balls, miso soup, salads, udon, apple tart, chocolate cake, lemon sorbet, cheesecake."  
Suddenly, Rath grabbed Thatz and pulled him away from the site of the attack. Thatz tried to gain some purchase on the ground and fight back, but gave up as Rath relentlessly dragged him onwards. He laid back in Rath's embrace, occassionally kicking free a stone or twig as they got caught beneath his heels, which were gouging tiny trails in the Castle's grounds. He sighed, trying to gain perspective on his lost meal. "Thanks, Rath. You're right. I shouldn't wallow over it's sweet, devastated goodness. After all, it can't be eaten now. You know, maybe there's still some lunch available at the kitchens. I should at least eat something. I think they were cooking yams..."  
Rath suddenly let go and turned around to face Thatz saying, "Man, you like food!"  
Thatz stared at Rath. "Rath? Looking around he noticed that Rath had dragged him to the Dragonlord's study. "Hey, how'd we get here?" 

The door opened and Rath's demeanor changed. He leaned back and started to glower. When a significant puss had formed on his face, he strode in ahead of Thatz, walked straight up to the Dragonlord and then right past him. He wandered over to the window, folded his arms and stared sulkily outside, ignoring everyone and making the senior dragons distinctly uncomfortable. Thatz, used to his mood changes when the Dragonlord appeared, slouched after him and waved casually. As a matter of course, he examined the room for easily pocketed, high value items.  
Tetheus looked at Rath briefly, then turned his attention to Thatz and nodded at him. His uniform was slick, tight and unadorned. Alfeegi burned. He was on the brink of marching over to Rath and making him acknowledge the Dragonlord. He was wearing a nice pair of cufflinks that could be easily sold on the black market, for close to half value. Lykouleon, wearing distinctive, signature jewellery, with a limited resale value, merely sighed, looked almost longingly at Rath, then put on one of his fake smiles and started the meeting. 

"I sent for Rune too. He should be here shortly," he said softly. He then looked over to Tetheus before continuing. "We can wait a little longer."  
"Rune?" said Thatz, shrugging a little. "I haven't seen him all day."  
The Dragon Officers looked strained at this, then Tetheus spoke. "I believe that he's been practising his control over his water magic. A useful activity."  
"Hear that, Rath? You could do with a bit more control over your fire magic. Rath?" Alfeegi called, the colour in his cheeks rising even more. "You'd better start paying more attention, Rath!"  
Lykouleon quieted him, with another wave of his hand. "In that case, we'd better start. I have a mission for the three of you," he said.  
"A mission?" said Thatz. "What do you have in mind?"  
Rath snorted. "Long as I get out of here, I don't care," he said, moodily.  
The Dragonlord cut off Alfeegi's response, with a small wave of his hand. "That's good then, Rath," he said, lightly. "There's a certain area of Dusis that we're worried about. There's been no information coming from it, for the past three months. We thought that maybe the route was blocked, but given the sheer amount of time, I doubt that's the reason."  
"How serious is it?" asked Thatz. " Have you sent out any of Dragon Fighters?" 

Rath glared at him, unsettling him, but Tetheus spoke, before he could find out why. 

"We've sent Dragon Fighters out that way, but none have reported back," Tetheus said, sternly. "Salazar has indicated trouble in the region. You're our best fighters and we want you to investigate. Whatever the problem is, help out, then come home."  
Alfeegi, tired of Rath's attitude spoke loudly and with solemn disgust. "There are demons. Hugely, powerful demons. Obscenely, mighty demons!"  
That got Rath's attention and he turned, his eyes growing wider with every demon-filled sentence.  
"Really?" he squeaked, like a small boy offered a cool new toy.  
Alfeegi, shocked that he'd gotten Rath's attention, gaped like a fish. "We haven't ruled them out," he said, weakly. Rath perked up and smiled again.  
"We'll do it!" he said, grabbing Thatz again and squealing happily. "Demons!"  
Tetheus, Lykouleon and Alfeegi exchanged glances and each called out. Rath stopped his happy march and turned to them impatiently.  
"Rath!" Tetheus said. "Don't you want more details?"  
"If we move now, we can grab Rune, pack and be gone before mid-day," he whined, impatient to leave.  
"It's an important mission. You have to be properly prepared. We're not sure exactly what the situation is..." Alfeegi trailed off. Rath's tapping foot and bored, skyward stare betraying his lack of attention.  
Tetheus squeezed his shoulder. "I'm going in that direction on a business matter," he said. "I'll travel with them part of the way and teach them what I know of the area." At Lykouleon's nod he turned to Thatz and the impatient Rath. "I'll wait for you at the North Gate, an hour after mid-day."  
"Gotcha," said Rath. "Gone." He raced out with the luckless Thatz, who waved at the senior Dragons. He heard them muttering, even before the door closed in his face. His instincts told him that listening at the door, would let him in on a very interesting conversation. Rath's grip was iron, though. So he laid back and waited for Rath to ask just how they'd find the errant Water Knight, enjoying his chance to relax, although his heels got quite a battering. 

* * *

I know that sugar is explosive, but I do know that there's another household chemical you have to mix with it, to set it on fire as described in the story. Let's just assume that it's mixed up in there.

Each story has intentional variations. Let's just say that Thatz, Rath and Rune each notice different things and have different opinions about the things they notice. I'm sure that Alfeegi, Tetheus and Lykouleon remember a different conversation too. Each story also has a different writing style and bias. Hopefully, each tale has a distinctive feel to it. 

I wonder now, if I should have taken the _Gauntlet _references out of it. They came into my head as I was thinking what to write for Thatz's side. I don't know if they fit or not. 

For the fuller story, please read the other versions. They are _Rune's Quest for Peace_ and _Rath's Quest for Demons_.


	2. A Really Good Meal

This story is one of three linked stories. The others are _Rune's Quest for Peace_ and _Rath's Quest for Demons_. Each story has a different flavour. strips out website addresses, so I can't point you at them, but if you click on my name up there, you should be able to find them in my fic list. 

This update has taken an awfully long time, I'm sorry, I've been writing it for ages, but the story refused to work properly. Sigh. I'm not sure if this chapter's up to scratch yet. It read okay, one day after the first draft was finished, but it might need more work. Let me know if another edit's called for.

Tetheus isn't working either. I might have to throw out what I've written so far and start again.

story so far: The Dragon Knights have a mission, to investigate a part of Dragoon from which no information has been received in the past few months.

* * *

Rath and Thatz eventually found Rune fast asleep in the garden. Rune loved sleep. It was almost impossible to wake him, but when you finally managed, he'd scream, moan and complain. He just didn't realise that he was a snoring bear of a sleeper and not a dozing butterfly. A minor distraction, calculated to awaken Rune gently, had already failed in its task. The repercussions from his disgruntled reaction still coated Thatz's body and he took the chance to brush off as much as possible, while Rath attempted to calm him down. The dust seemed to be glued onto Thatz and that, as well as the clawing hunger in his stomach distracted Thatz from most of their conversation.

"Soo hungry," he growled. "It's not fair that Rath destroyed my food. I spent hours preparing the **Welcome Home **lunch. I always have to pay when we're not in the castle and I was really looking forward to one big, free meal. Hmm," he said, as a sudden thought hit him. "Maybe there's some way that I can use Rune's good looks to save me the cost of room and board." He smiled widely. "I'm sure that Alfeegi'd agree with anything that'd cut down my expense claim. I wonder if he's any tips?"

Rath's voice finally piped through his introspection. "Thatz'll tell you what the Dragonlord said."  
Thatz twitched, then noticed Rath gesturing behind Rune's back. His mouth gaped for a bit, before his mind refocused on his fellow Dragon knights. "We did say we'd leave straight away," he admitted. His stomach rumbled, its empty insides crying out for food. He looked down wistfully and patted it comfortingly. "I could do with a meal, but we spent quite some time looking for you, first. If Rath or I had known where you were, we could have eaten an hour ago." He looked up at Rath and added at his prompting. "The Dragonlord said it was really important and urgent."

Looking sideways, Thatz noticed Rune shaking, his fingers steepled and his eyes raised skyward.

"Did he hear me?" he muttered. He coughed and cravenly approached his friend. "Rune?" he said in a quavering voice. "Are you okay?"  
"Okay!" Rune hissed. "We're meeting Tetheus in half an hour? No problem! I'm sure it'll be ... great! Looking forward to it. Lovely! I'll go pack, shall I?"  
"Great?" said Rath.  
"Great!" Rune echoed, hollowly. He sighed, briefly touched his head and set off for the Gate at a brisk run.  
"Rath?" asked Thatz. "Is Rune okay? Does he know that we've got an hour and a half to get there?"  
"Nah," said Rath. "You know how long it takes him to pack."  
Thatz yawned. "We've got a bit of time," he said, clutching his stomach, as it cried out again. "I'll go and get something from the kitchens."  
"You're hungry? But we've got to get moving." said Rath, petulantly.  
"I'm getting some food," Thatz stated firmly. "While I'm there, I'll pick up supplies for the road, while they're free, unless you want to pay for everything. It is about time that you picked up the tab."  
"All right," said Rath, with a smile. "You load up and I'll meet you at the North Gate."  
"Put your hand in your pocket, or I'll do it for you," Thatz muttered. "Oh and you'd better not leave your purse behind again."

He shook his head and made for the kitchens. The mouth-watering scent of lunch had already faded from the corridors nearby, although it seemed the aroma of newly baked bread would permanently be floating in the air. Thatz inhaled deeply as he drew closer, hoping that the smell alone could fill his angry tummy.

He poked his head through the massive doors and looked around. The kitchen was enduring one of its few lulls of the day. With lunch out of the way, the hard-working denizens of the castle had their bellies full until a light supper that evening. Thatz scoured the area. No. No-one was eating late today. He'd have to scrounge some left-overs, or get someone to slap something together quickly, nothing on the scale of his ruined meal. With a small curse for his fellow Dragon Knight, he slinked into the room.

A pretty apprentice attacked some dough with glee as he glided past. She was attractive and usually Thatz stopped to chat with her, but looks weren't as important as culinary skill to Thatz right then. He passed another cook, yelping a bit and sucking on a thumb. Judging from the sharp knife and the carefully diced vegetables nearby, he wasn't the greatest either. Thatz moved on past the bubbling cauldrons, too. Soup is hard to keep, when you're on the road. Eventually, he found himself at the pantry doors. Thatz sighed, thinking once more of his ruined feast, before letting himself in and stocking up on all the dry goods that'd fit into his bag. He was nearly finished when a floury paw grasped ahold of his shirt and pulled him out.

"You!" screeched the head cook. "Just why are you showing your face in here again?"  
"Ahem," coughed Thatz. "You're looking well, my dear. Have you lost weight?" The plump chef glowered down at him, while he gamely continued in a light-hearted vein. "I didn't want to bother you, so I'm putting together my own lunch."  
"Oh really?" she said, lowering her face and bringing it close to Thatz's, filling his field of vision. "And what about the giant basket of goodies that I saw you run out of here with, not two hours ago? This must be a new record, Thatz."  
"Actually," said Thatz, still keeping a cool head, in the face of her dragon breath. "There was a tiny accident with that and it was destroyed."  
"Not that suckling pig?" asked the cook, smoke hissing out of her nostrils. "The one you were so kind to help with? The one that was supposed to be the centrepiece at the high table? The one destined for the Dragonlord's taste-buds?"  
"Actually," squirmed Thatz, turning away from the flames licking out of her nose. "It's funny you mention him. I'm about to go on a mission for the Dragonlord, so I'm just getting rations for myself and the other two knights."  
"I don't think so," she said slowly, enunciating each word. "Not until I get that pig back." A burst of flame signed the eyebrows of the luckless knight. "Smoked."  
"Of course," said Thatz, smiling and patting at her sleeve, while he stepped to her side. "Let me see what I can RUN!"

He dashed under her arm, but the head cook was expecting something tricky. Learning from past mistakes, she ignored Thatz's nimble body and struck where it hurt. She grabbed his bag of food and clung on for dear life. Thatz yanked and pulled, twisted and hauled, but couldn't dislodge her grip.

"You were saying, Thatz?" she said, with a giant smile, as she reached out and gained a better purchase on the cloth bag.

Eyeing her creeping hands, Thatz did the only thing possible. With a whimper and a stomach rumble, he let go of the bag and fled from the kitchens. The cook held the bag closely and laughed. "I finally won!" she said. Smirking still, she handed the food over to another and told him to put it away. "Thatz is banned from the kitchens," she announced, before bustling about, tasting soup, examining cut onions and poking dough, once more.

* * *

"Damn," Thatz panted, "with the kitchens off limits, how'm I going to eat?" Though he was far from the cook's reach, he kept running. "I could play the dragon fighters for snacks, but I don't have anything to ante and I am under time pressure." He pulled up a bit and sighed heavily. "There's nothing for it. I'll have to go into town and pay for it." He wearily plodded on, before brightening a little. "On the other hand, since I'm officially on a mission, if I save the receipt, I should be able to get Alfeegi to reimburse me."

His feet took him automatically to Master's. Even though he didn't steal for a living anymore, he still liked to visit his old haunts and catch up with his old friends. Ha! Even though they'd known each other since Thatz was a babe, even though they were such good friends, he couldn't get even a simple sandwich on credit. Thatz muttered bitterly to himself about Master's stinginess, as he fumbled in his pockets for loose change. Then for folded notes. Finally for a purse. He found nothing. _I had it yesterday. Where did I put it? In a bag? Not the bag I left in the kitchens?_

"Gah!" he exclaimed. "Oh well, maybe Rath can front me a two course meal. If we both get to the Gate early, I'll ask him for the loan."

Thatz carefully wound his way towards the North Gate. It took longer than it should have, as there appeared to be a gaggle of foreigners slowly striding along the closest road. Thatz pushed his way through the crowd of locals curiously waiting for them to pass. Looking over some heads, he could just see that the parade was led by a precariously balanced cartload of luggage. Bags regularly fell from the top. He picked one off the ground which had landed by him and handed it to a small child who seemed to be part of the festivities. The boy smiled at him and threw the bag back onto the cart. It hit the side of the pile and slid right off. Someone else must have picked it up, because it was soon launched upwards again. This time it managed to stay on, swaying dangerously as the cart rolled on. Thatz smiled and sidled away from it. The trail of foreigners was quite long, but the crowd seemed to concentrate itself at the cart and Thatz found it easy to make his way through. Turning his head, he could still see the baggage wending its way down the road, shedding its load and getting hit by clumsy tosses as it went. He fingered the purse now resting in his pocket and smiled again.

"I think that I might treat Rath instead," he said. "What a fine show that was."

Once clear of the strangers, he quickly reached the North Gate. Rath was waiting there, in fine brooding form, but there was no sign of Rune or Tetheus.

"Ho there, Rath," said Thatz, cheerily.

Rath nodded and walked down to meet him.

"We're both early," he said. "I'm surprised that Rune's not here yet. He really is slow."  
"Have we got time for a meal?" asked Thatz, generously. "Let me treat you to the finest inn in town. We can tell Rune what he missed, when he finally shows up."  
"Sure," said Rath, putting aside his mood a little. "I've worked up an appetite."

The pair of Dragon Knights made their way through the town. There was no sign of the gaggle of strangers now and life had returned to its usual bustle. Thatz skilfully avoided two pickpockets and a cutpurse before delivering Rath to the best inn in town, The Dragon's Head.

Thatz gleefully led Rath inside. The mouth-watering aroma of hot food wafted through the lobby, which was looking quite snazzy this afternoon, with freshly-cut flowers standing proudly to attention. The inn was bustling, with many guests strolling out past the Dragon Knights. Thatz turned to Rath with a huge grin on his face.

"The kitchens are still open. Doesn't that smell good?" he asked.

Without waiting for a reply, he bounced up to the maitre d' and said, "Table for two, please."  
"I'm sorry, sir," the man replied. "The kitchen is closed to the commons, right now."  
"It's all-right, we'll take a private table," smiled Thatz, as he took out his new purse and shook it. The glorious sound of coins rustling against each other enriched his ears.  
"I'm afraid that there are no private rooms either. We have a large party booked in and they've taken every table we've got." The maitre d' smiled apologetically and continued. "There are some other good inns that I can recommend."  
"Actually," said Thatz, thinking quickly. "This large party, they're the..."  
"...the Vanhall party?" supplied the maitre d' helpfully.  
"Exactly," said Thatz. "They're friends of ours. We were supposed to meet them, but I thought that was later. We must have gotten our wires crossed. Upstairs, is it?"

He turned Rath around, pushed him past the dapper maitre d' and towards the stairs at the back of the lobby.

"They've already finished their main course," he called after them, a slight tinge of worry in his voice, but other, hungry new-comers stopped him from following.  
"Thatz," whispered Rath. "How's this going to work?"  
"Easy," Thatz replied, with a smile. "Large groups never know everyone. We simply sit down at a table, as if we belong there and everyone will assume that we're part of their group. The best part is that we shouldn't even have to pay."

The smile on his face broke further ground and he spun his new purse on his finger, as he led Rath into the largest of the inn's private rooms. Laughter spilled out as he opened the door and Thatz's suspicions were apparently confirmed when he saw the huge mass of people filling the room. He squeezed Rath into a vacant spot at the corner of a large table and ignored his alarm when an elderly grandmother started talking to him in a loud voice.

"Tommy-boy? You've shrunk. Tell Grandma what you're up to," she ordered. Rath shrunk back, afraid that "Grandma" would demand her rightful kiss, as well. He turned to Thatz, looking for some backup, but Thatz just pointed at the squash at Rath's table, shrugged and headed deeper into the room, looking for a place of his own. He found a vacant spot, with its own chair and decent arm-room, beside a large, fat man, with a loud opinion. He settled into the chair, scooted up to the table and inspected it for food. The bread basket was empty and the plates all around were filled with bones and fatty chunks. _Vultures_, he thought. _Is there nothing of a buffet left? _. He swiftly caught the attention of a waitress and turned back on his charm.

"Hi, I'd like to order now," he said, scanning the nearly empty plates of the other diners, trying to figure out what looked the tastiest.  
"What?" the waitress replied, looked startled and a little stressed. "We're clearing plates at the moment."  
"I know and I'm sorry," Thatz apologised. "I was detained and I got here late, but I'm really hungry."

He opened his eyes wide and tried as hard as he could, to reflect the desperate hunger in them. His stomach rumbled as he did so and Thatz got even hungrier.

"Well," the waitress said, pulling a notebook out of her apron. "I suppose part of that's our fault too. I'll see what I can do."  
Wondering what she meant by that, Thatz opened his mouth to order.  
"We've got broccoli pie left and maybe some crusty bread," she said, reading from her notebook.  
"B..b..broccoli? What about the filet steak?" Thatz whined, his stomach recoiling at his least favourite vegetable.  
The waitress leant in closer and whispered, "I'm afraid that your family ate all that for their first course. When they booked, they asked for broccoli pie to be on the menu, but only Grandma actually ordered it. So, we've tons of that left. Not much else, though." She smiled apologetically. "When everyone was late to show, we had to give most of the starters to the commons. Spring rolls get cold quickly, you know? With the special sauce, they need to be eaten quickly."  
"I love spring rolls," moaned Thatz, the word "family" turning over in his subconscious, "but if broccoli's all there is, I'll eat it."

The waitress wrote down his order and left. Rath hated broccoli more than Thatz and he wondered how Rath was taking the situation. He looked up to see Rath devouring the last of a sublime piece of filet steak, saved by Grandma for her favourite grandson in the family, good old Tommy-boy. Rath felt Thatz's hungry eyes on him and smiled evilly as he chewed the last mouthful, before licking his fingers and turning back to his grandma. Thatz glowered darkly, but gave up when he received no response. Sighing, he pulled his new purse from his pocket and hooked the string with his little finger. He spun it round and round, counting each revolution until the waitress arrived with food. One...Two...Three...

"Elsie?"

The large mountain beside him, twisted in his chair and turned to Thatz.

"You're not Elsie?" he said. "What are you doing at my table?"  
"Err," said Thatz, still spinning his purse. "I arrived late and..."  
"Hey," said the man, with a gleeful yell. "That's my purse! You found it! Thank you!"

He snatched Thatz's ill-gotten gains from his spasming fingers and opened the purse wide.

"It's all still here. Man, I thought it was gone. This is such a great city, so friendly to tourists." He clapped Thatz on the back, nearly knocking him out on the table and smiled broadly. "Let me buy you a drink. Waitress, bottle of house red!"

Another harassed waitress pulled up with apologies. "I'm sorry, sir. The last bottle of house red was served to the Dragon Knight."  
"Dragon Knight?" asked Thatz.  
"Yeah," said the mountain. "We got our own, genuine Dragon Knight to welcome us to the city."

He pulled his chair out from the table, so that Thatz could peer around him and revealed the errant Rune, drunk as a fish and giggling wildly. A hoard of plates, covered in half-eaten, rich foods was spread before him and the table was heavily stained with spilt wine. Thatz's anger turned to horror, as the smiling Rune shuddered, then threw up all over the table. The family surrounding him laughed and Thatz's companion picked up the wine bottle and filled Rune's glass up to the brim. He turned back to Thatz and upended it over his glass. Two drops slipped out. Rune burped happily and Thatz stared enviously, as the waitress deposited a heaped plate of tasty broccoli onto the table before him.

* * *

I still haven't managed to get the formatting working correctly.It's nottaking my html files as it should and I have to put in dots to get page breaks between those hr tags. I blame quick edit, since everything worked fine before that turned up. Anyhow, I'm not worried about it anymore, I've learned to live with the sloppy, dotty formatting.

Chapter the third should take place in the same time-frame for each story. After all, we've all met up now. Plotting it out should take a while, but when it's done, then these chapters should be written quickly.


	3. Bandit Attack!

Block block blockity block. Yes, it's been a horrible length of time and this story has had pieces added to it, week by painful week. I just had nowhere to go with Rath's Quest, so I've skipped it to do this one. Still didn't help enough, though, did it?

Gah, hopefully Rath will be easier on me when I go back to him. I hope the next update doesn't take as long.

Anyhow here's the second (usually third, but hopefully it should make no difference when you're reading it) part of the set piece.

oOo

* * *

oOo

Ruela wore a stunning necklace. Its sparkle was far beyond her family's means and Thatz guessed that it was a gift from an admirer and that the girl had no idea of its true value. Ruela herself had something about her. She was bowlegged and her teeth grew in three separate directions, but every time she smiled, Thatz's stomach fluttered. It was both horribly uncomfortable and incredibly wonderful. Thatz felt that way every time he thought about robbing the Dragonlord blind.

The two of them walked easily alongside her family's wagon, while her little sister ran back and forth between their neighbours. The wagon's slow and careful pace meant that most of the other wagoneers had passed them out and they were now holding up the last few in the train at one of the narrower parts of the road. A green-looking Rune had clambered aboard at Draqueen and the family were far too polite to kick him out and make him walk. Thatz had thought of many choice remarks to deliver when he finally showed his face.

The one good thing that came out of the wagon's slow progress, was that Thatz had a chance to scope out all of the others and to learn a little more about Ruela.

"Dad lost his job and mum has family in Luwa, so we're moving out there. Mum reckons that one of her brothers will employ him and she wrote a letter a month ago, explaining things." She paused, looking around before hitting Thatz for the sympathy vote. "I mean, can you believe it? They've packed up the whole family and we're travelling across country!"

"I dunno," said Thatz. "I used to see Draqueen as the world, but I've travelled so much now, that the thought of seeing one new town is really exciting."

"Oh it's exciting," said Ruela, "but at the same time, it hurts to think about it." She rubbed her stomach before saying, "My stomach turns over and over."

"You're homesick," laughed Thatz. "That'll go after your first good meal. Trust me."

She smiled bravely, but continued to clutch her stomach as they chatted on. Ruela's little sister, Marcy, flitted back and forth to them from other interests and by the time the caravan stopped for the night, Thatz knew almost everything about Ruela and was ready to stretch his wings. He bade her goodnight once her family had settled into the campsite and went on the prowl.

Even after he'd started working for the Dragonlord, Thatz had kept up his thiefly habits. He'd attempted to be honourable and a credit to his employer and insisted that scoping out his environment in a surreptitious manner was an important part of how he kept safe. Rath may be able to kill everything and Rune could whine his way out of any problem, but Thatz avoided trouble where possible and always had three escape routes and several hidey-holes, no matter where he was.

Still, those habits came with other habits and when he wasn't collared following the disappearance of five small and valuable trinkets, Thatz stopped lying to himself and pursued a sideline in petty crime. He justified it by considering that he needed to keep a hand in, just in case the Dragon Knight job went sour.

Thatz stretched in the shadows: although he was one of the last to arrive, there were still plenty jostling for camping space. Horses were being hobbled, wagons staked down and firewood collected. Sparks shone in the distance as the early-arrivers put flint to steel. "Rath would be able to make an extra penny or two if he put himself out a bit," he muttered, shivering in the cold air.

He sauntered through the glade, chatting to guards and drivers and sneaking peeks at their goods when he thought that no-one would notice. The important thing was not to draw attention to himself and he succeeded. It turned out that the carts with the heaviest loads were full of flour and grain, which are only profitable when sold in bulk. The silk merchant's caravan was heavily guarded and his goods too difficult to slip away with. It looked like it was going to be a bad night, until Thatz spotted Hamilton, the portly head of the train, stashing a small box inside his wagon.

"Oh ho," he muttered, moving swiftly past. "What can that be?"

By the time Thatz had completed his first pass, some of the fires had taken and on his next set of rounds, he stopped by the cooking pots and sampled the delights therein. A brief taste from each chef's spoon was enough for Thatz to choose who to befriend and who to make excuses to and move past. Some of the cooks were generous and as well as a hearty bowl of what everyone else was having, food was pressed on him for the rest of his party. He munched on the snacks that he'd gleaned before wending his way back to the other dragons and bedding down for the night.

His finely honed senses - the ones that could detect an unguarded purse at five hundred yards - woke him up. The confused yells and screams had also roused Rune and Rath, but they were groggy, blinking in the campfire light and rubbing their eyes, even as he rolled to his feet and drew his sword.

"I'll find out what's going on," he said, melding into the shadows and leaving them behind.

Darkness is the thief's friend and Thatz used it. He snuck past frightened merchants, heading for the centre of the clamour, when the low fires blazed up, exposing him to the full gaze of the bandits assaulting the caravan. He threw a knife at one surprised attacker, whose heavy scarf was unable to absorb the steel and ducked behind a wagon, heart beating madly. He pushed on, until a comforting blanket of shadow descended again and he was able to approach Hamilton's wagon from another angle.

He found the head of the wagon train slumped beside his cart, his body still warm, but un-moving. He closed the fat man's eyes, moving his lips in an unuttered prayer, before heaving himself into the wagon. The cloth tunnel seemed to amplify the sounds outside and he heard feet running past: frantic footsteps, uneven shuffles and measured treads. Safe from view, Thatz turned his attention to the wagon's interior. Boxes had been stacked at the rear of the vehicle to make room for a simple bedroll. It now lay in a heap, disconcerting when viewed beside neatly folded clothing, ordered books and the precisely stacked boxes.

The thief knelt down beside it and began running his fingers lightly over the wooden planks that formed the floor of the wagon. Again and again he brushed the wood, a frown deepening on his brow. He finally found something, a slightly different texture indicating an area that was rubbed or removed more often than its neighbours. He stared at it for a while, then began to press and prod odd patches of wood nearby. Finally, he extracted long, thin, metal needles with different shaped hooks on the end and slid them into the gap between the boards. He worked them delicately and patiently and was rewarded with a low click and the section of wood popping up. It didn't jut out enough to lever it out and Thatz pushed it back into place when he attached a suction cup. A moment's work popped it again and Thatz removed the wooden section, a gleeful grin on his face as he peered into the new-born hole.

His unrepentant curse echoed back in his face and rang in his ears.

"Why pay good money for a safe place to stash your loot, if you remove it all at the first sign of trouble?" he whined, throwing the wood back at the hollow. "Moron!"

He flopped down. Just then a thin blade sliced through the cloth tunnel, neatly decapitating his flickering shadow, but missing Thatz by inches. He made no noise this time, but rolled softly to his left and eased his sword from its scabbard. A head poked through the hole in the canvas and Thatz stabbed it square in the eye. The bandit made a gurgling cry and slumped down. Thatz was gone before the body stopped moving.

He slid through the clamour, somehow managing not to get caught up in one of the running battles, although he did take the opportunity to stab from dark safety whenever possible. He caught sight of a tall figure, hidden mostly by the shadows and watched him flit through the battlefield, avoiding nearly as many crazed fights as Thatz did. _Oho,_ thought the thief. _Looks like Mr. Stealthy has accomplished his mission and is trying to escape._ He set off after the dark figure.

The figure was hard to track and Thatz thought that he'd lost him once or twice, but finally caught a glimpse of _something_ slipping out of the clearing and raced after it.

A few steps into the trees and the sound of battle muted. You could almost imagine that there was a party going on nearby, with the excited squeals of children and chittering of adults. Almost. Shadows moved to either side and Thatz hunkered down and slithered into the bushes. Conversation drifted through the branches and Thatz crawled closer, hoping for a good view.

Through the leaves he saw Tetheus, the Black Dragon Officer, talking with arms outstretched, to another figure. Thatz moved some twigs out of the way in order to see better, but Tetheus shot a piercing glare in his direction and Thatz let them be. His heart thumped faster, but Tetheus soon turned back to his friend.

"You seek an assignation with the mistress," said an exotic, husky voice. "I can't allow that. My Lord has ordered me to stop you."

Thatz stuffed his hand into his mouth to keep his guffaws inside. He started shaking, then spasms wracked his body and he crawled away, leaving Tetheus to his rendezvous.

He met few bandits on the way back - the frenzy of the attack sated with the theft of Hamilton's box, no doubt. He caught up with Rath, who was severely winded and being comforted by Ruela. He gave her a curt nod and dragged Rath away, teasing him with the gossip, but refusing to tell until his audience included Rune.

They found him surrounded by well-wishers, safely ensconced inside a barricaded circle. He fussed over Rath as soon as they arrived, who gamely tried to brush him off. Thatz cooled his heels, as the glow of healing suffused Rath.

"Give off, Rune," snapped the Fire Knight, slapping his hands away. "Look at Thatz."

"Thatz is fine," replied Rune, without even checking.

"You'll never guess what I heard!" spilled Thatz, unable to keep it in any longer. "Wonder where Tetheus is?" He mimed looking around.

Rath frowned and Rune sighed, not playing along.

"He's meeting a girl!" continued Thatz, in full swing. "Tetheus! A girl!"

Rune spluttered, his eyes bulging out. Rath froze, incrementally turning to the left, although he was the first to speak. "I didn't think he was the type."

"I thought he was asexual," said Rune.

They looked at each other and for some reason Rune started to laugh, tears running down his face. Rath joined in and Thatz watched them with a rueful smile. "Come on," he said. "Let's get back to sleep. There's still a few hours until daylight."

And so they crawled back into their beds while the camp bustled around them.

oOo

* * *

oOo

What a delay, my apologies. I also don't know when Rath's side will be completed.

There is a fourth thread in this trilogy. There wasn't supposed to be originally, but when I started plotting this bit out in my head, I realised that I'd have to figure out what Tetheus was up to. It all kinda came together and linked up. I've written this chapter from his eyes too, but I don't know if I'll post it up. Certainly not until these three quests have finished, if I do. I wonder if anyone's figured what what's really happened here? Maybe I'll finish off _Tetheus's Quest for Meaning_ if anyone has a decent stab at it.

I think I'll risk it here, because even though the rules have changed it was a wonderful review. Thanks Capella for telling me what your thoughts were. It gave me the motivation to get this lot done.

Only another 7 in total now. Phew.


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